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Author: Starbuck_23 Story: A Secret Heart Rating: Teens Status: WIP Reviews: 3 Words: 15,821
Though he barely registered Hermione’s startled cries over the rush of their Stunners, Harry felt himself flinch back, as though he’d been burned. But it was too late. In the crimson light of their spells, he watched the figure buckle forcibly under the impact, before tumbling to the ground. Harry lunged forward to catch the slight figure in his arms, dipping under the sudden weight. A thick cascade of brilliant red locks fell from beneath the cloak’s oversized hood, spilling over his tarnished robes. As if struck, Harry felt all the blood go out of him in a rush. ‘Ginny?’ he choked unbelievably. Guiding her to the ground, he carefully brushed the stray hair from her face, his insides lurching at the feel of her skin beneath his fingertips. It was cold and slick with sweat — as if barely clinging to the life beneath it. ‘Ginny?’ he called again, as if expecting an answer, but she was seemingly beyond response. Fear began to rise in him, filling his lungs and brain with dark and wretched memories. Visions of the last time he had seen her look so pale and still, lying near dead against a cold stone floor in a pitiless prison, when she’d been just a girl…. He shook the thought away, drawing a shuddering breath. Gruesome recollection would not help Ginny at all. She needed a healing spell, the kind which was not within his power to provide. ‘Hermione!’ he cried over his shoulder, his voice thick and unfamiliar in his ears, only to realize that Hermione was already kneeling beside him. ‘Harry, hurry, let me see her,’ Hermione said, a rough hitch to her voice. The thought that Hermione might be struggling to remain calm herself made his stomach drop sickeningly. Hermione was not given to panic — at least, until things became dire. ‘Can you do the spell?’ he asked desperately, helping her to life Ginny from off the ground and onto her lap, his heart pounding in his ears. Hermione ignored him, pressing her wand hand firmly over Ginny’s heart, and furrowed her face in concentration. ‘Renerveate,’ she muttered fervently. Several agonizing seconds ticked slowly by before Hermione shook her head anxiously, repeating her command more forcefully. ‘Renerveate.’ Nothing happened. ‘It’s no good.’ She looked at him with wide eyes, pleading with him to forgive her her powerlessness, even though she knew he would never hold it against her. He noticed vaguely that her voice had gone up steeply in pitch, as was usually the case when she was anxious or frightened. ‘I can’t perform restorative spells as wandless magic, Harry, it’s too much. Not after two spells like that. I need my wand.’ Her wand. The irony of it seemed to ring in his ears. A simple piece of wood with the power to fix everything or, given its absence, render her completely helpless. Harry glanced around frantically, as if the darkness could somehow provide an answer. As it had become so accustomed to doing, his adrenaline-ridden brain began running scenarios at breakneck speed. But try as he might, he couldn’t account for the unlikely reality lying in front of him. Ginny. It was both a dream and a waking nightmare. As much as he’d longed for her all this time, he thought he’d gladly go seven months more without her than see her like this. He knew the force of their spells would be too much for anyone to sustain for long without some damage, and they’d been expecting Death Eaters. He felt a thin bead of sweat trail down his face. ‘There.’ Harry looked up, startled from his dark thoughts. It was the first thing Ron had said since Ginny’s inexplicable appearance. Bewildered, he followed Ron’s gaze down to where he was pointing, unexpectedly, at the thick traveling cloak Ginny was wearing. ‘Ron, what—’ Hermione began questioningly, but he stopped her. ‘In the pocket,’ he said, pointing again to Ginny’s cloak. Harry couldn’t help but wonder suddenly at the unnerving quality of Ron’s voice, which seemed to him as dull as stone. He was staring at Ginny strangely and yet, disturbingly, his face seemed to bear no emotion at all. Hermione pushed aside the heavy fabric, and Harry heard something fall to the ground with a dull thump. Stunned, he watched as Hermione picked up three wands — their wands — from the ground, before tossing his and Ron’s to each of them quickly. Harry caught his wand reflexively, wrapping his fingers around the familiar wood. Relief flooded through him for a brief moment. There was nothing he hated more than being powerless. Quickly, he lit his wand, casting a shallow pool of light over the prone figure before them. ‘Renerveate,’ Hermione repeated loudly, pressing her wand tip to Ginny’s chest. Instantly, a stream of thick, yellow sparks flowed from the polished wood, trickling evenly over her face and limbs. Harry picked up her hand, his heart hammering against his chest. ‘Ginny?’ he called softly. She opened her eyes. Ginny moaned weakly, blinking heavily, and reached out instinctively towards the only thing she could feel in the dim light —a hand. Warm and firm, she clung to it, straining to pull her mind into present reality, whatever that might be. The last thing she remembered was a doorway, glowing blue, and then… nothing. Only darkness. ‘Ginny, how do you feel?’ She looked towards the familiar voice. ‘Hermione?’ she choked roughly. ‘Yes, Ginny, we’re all here,’ Hermione answered, her voice brimming with shaky relief, she realized. ‘Don’t try to sit up. Here….’ Hermione stood up slowly, taking her arm, and she felt a pair of strong hands wrap around her waist from behind. She cried out unwittingly at the touch, a jolt of pain shooting through her ribs. ‘Sorry,’ Harry said quickly, adjusting his hold gently. Harry. She looked into his face. It was full of…regret. Guilt. Her mind cast inevitably to the last time she had seen his brilliant eyes look so full of remorse, when he had forced her to say goodbye to him in her brother’s childhood playhouse. She remembered hoping then that she would never see him look at her like that again. They pulled her to her feet, keeping their hold as they began to move towards the doorway. But to their surprise, Ron suddenly blocked their path. ‘Hermione, get away from her,’ he said, his voice cold as steel. He was pointing his wand straight at Ginny’s heart, staring at her with an empty look. ‘Ron, what are you doing?’ Hermione asked, dumbfounded. She was looking at him as though he had suddenly gone mad. Harry, however, seemed to understand Ron’s mind instantly. His eyes suddenly became equally hard. ‘Ron,’ he said, an almost imperceptible note of warning in his voice. ‘Ron, it’s not what you think. It’s Ginny. Put your wand down.’ And suddenly, despite her addled mind, Ginny understood. Ron couldn’t tell her for who she was — his sister. He was willing to risk their safety, and possibly, their escape against his gamble. In the very back of her mind, Ginny knew Ron was being cautious, wise even, to suspect her identity. But given that he had nearly just stunned her into oblivion, she did not begrudge herself for being less forgiving of him than usual. ‘Ron, you can’t possibly think she’s a Death Eater,’ Hermione began chidingly. ‘Sorry, Harry,’ Ron answered firmly, ignoring Hermione completely. ‘But you’re not exactly the most objective person around when it comes to my sister.’ ‘Ron, we don’t have time for this,’ Harry said angrily. ‘We need to get away from here while we can.’ But Ron, to his credit, remained resolute. “And if that is actually a Death Eater, we’ll be leading Voldemort right to the Grange. Are you willing to take that chance?’ ‘Why would a Death Eater disguise himself like Ginny, and then hand over our wands of all things?’ Harry cried, exasperated. ‘Because they can, Harry. This could be just the last round of this bloody twisted game before he picks us off one by one,’ Ron shot back, breathing hard. ‘He’s done it before, Harry.’ ‘You’re right, Ron,’ Harry answered, quieter than before. ‘But not this time. Trust me.’ Harry seemed torn — he understood Ron’s reasons and much as Ron seemed to understand his own. But he seemed certain of the truth all the same, she saw, even if he knew if was foolhardy. Something in her swelled nervously as she looked at him. He was trying to protect her, she realized. And while she knew she would normally resist any such protection where she could, she did not have the energy now to refuse it. Instead, she felt a sudden rush of gratitude. Ginny groaned suddenly, unable to suppress the cold chills overtaking her. Her teeth were chattering violently. ‘Listen,’ Hermione cried finally, silencing them both. ‘We need to get her out of here, she’s going into shock. Ask her something only Ginny would know.’ ‘All right,’ Ron said, and they all looked at her expectantly. ‘What was the name of the bear Fred and George charmed into a spider on me?’ She gave a derisive snort. ‘Mr. Bobo,’ she answered through her chattering teeth. ‘And afterwards you made Mum put an Anti-Transfiguration charm on him before you would sleep with him again. Happy?’ He eyed her warily for a fraction of a second, as if looking right through her, before a traitorous beet-red blush stained the tips of his ears. ‘Yeah, well, you wouldn’t have liked waking up next to a great, hairy—’ ‘All right then,’ Hermione interrupted loudly, hoisting Ginny’s arm around her shoulder for support. ‘Now that we’re all satisfied, I really think that we should get out of here. We’ve been hanging around quite long enough, and—’ But Hermione was interrupted again as Ginny moaned wretchedly, the thought suddenly coming back to her in a flash of memory. ‘Hanging around?’ she asked frantically. ‘How long has it been?’ They looked at her slightly confused, as Hermione shifted under her weight. ‘I don’t know, a good fifteen minutes at least, I suppose,’ Ron answered. ‘But why—’ ‘We have to get out of here,’ she said, suddenly panicked despite her disoriented state. ‘The barrier — they’ll know…’ Their faces became collectively anxious. She struggled to make to her numb brain form some sort of coherent thought underneath the haze heavy upon her. She had to make them understand. ‘The barrier,’ she said thickly, leaning heavily on Hermione. ‘There were only thirty minutes to get out, after activating the barrier.’ The urgency she felt must have been apparent, for some form of understanding passed between them instantly. All three stiffened visibly, wands suddenly at the ready, held tight and drawn. ‘Harry,’ Hermione said, her voice rigid, and nodded ahead. Without a word, both Harry and Ron took up a defensive stance in front of them as Hermione shouldered Ginny’s shaky weight, leading her forward. Together, they stepped through the murky doorway. And then all hell broke loose. The breath of cool night air hadn’t struck her face when something hot and sinister whizzed by just inches from her skin, a sickly purple flash. Instantly, Hermione dragged her down, pressing them both flat to the ground. She felt a nauseating wave of vertigo wash over her, making the trees spin in circles before her eyes. ‘Hermione, take cover!’ She heard Harry scream back at them, and suddenly she was being half-dragged, half-carried behind a nearby grove of brush, her head still pounding with the rush of light and sound raining down around them. Releasing her, Hermione sent a volley of Stunners towards the group of Death Eaters nearest them, before quickly ducking as a curse came whipping back at her. Ginny groped blindly through her cloak, adrenaline coursing through her, until her fingers finally wrapped around the slender length of her wand. There were at least half a dozen Death Eaters that she could see. Many of them were taking cover themselves behind the narrow storehouse, against what she could only assume was Harry and Ron’s attack from somewhere out front. Following suit, she quickly shot off a round of Stunners, actually managing to bring down two of them before the Death Eaters realized they were being hit from behind as well. ‘Sectumsempra,’ hissed a greasy voice. The cutting curse struck her sharply across the temple, and she cried out unwittingly in pain and shock. She felt warm blood flow down her face instantly, thick and heavy, and lurched dizzily on the spot. The Death Eater laughed, a sound full of sickly pleasure. His eyes were gleaming madly through his gruesome mask, as though it were all just a game and she was the sport. She raised her wand hurriedly, but much too slowly. ‘Oh no, my pretty,’ he snarled, his voice thick with barely restrained excitement. ‘You need another lesson, I think. Sectumsempra!’ The curse hit her deeply across the neck, splitting the pale flesh like water, and she moaned again in pain. There was blood staining through her cloak now, running down her chest. She fell to her knees weakly. The Death Eater was coming closer, barreling down over her, raising his wand to strike again- ‘Stupefy!’ The force of Hermione’s spell knocked him clear backwards, his head lolling sickeningly to the side as he struck the ground ten feet clear of them. Hermione fell to the ground as another flash of light shot overhead, to where Ginny was slouched over weakly. ‘Oh, Ginny,’ Hermione muttered fervently, pressing her hand to Ginny’s head to stem the blood pouring steadily down her face and neck. When she pulled it away, Hermione’s hand was scarlet, shining with fresh blood. Ginny could only blink at her thickly, each beat of her heart seeming to drain the little resolve she had left. ‘Harry! Ron!’ Hermione screamed shrilly. Even through her pain, Ginny could hear the panic in Hermione’s voice, more than she ever remembered hearing in her normally collected friend. It was that, more than anything, which suddenly frightened her. Hermione was not normally given to panic — at least, until things became dire. For a moment there was nothing, and then suddenly she felt heavy footfalls on the earth beneath them. She looked to see Harry and Ron running towards them, each of them sending curses over their backs towards the remaining Death Eaters as they came. They stopped short as they reached the low brush, their faces blanching almost simultaneously. ‘Bloody hell,’ Ron muttered weakly. ‘Ginny?’ Dimly, she looked towards the sound of Harry’s voice. He seemed to be rooted firmly to the ground, staring down at her vaguely as if stunned in place. But within seconds he shook his head clear, seeming to spring into action as that same hard look returned to his brilliant eyes. ‘Harry.’ She sought out his face, entirely unsure of what she even intended to say, but another volley of spells came raining down over them. The Death Eaters had regrouped, bearing down on them again with renewed forces. Without thinking, Harry leapt towards her, crouching over her as he cast a wordless shield charm which encased them fully in a dome of blinding light. It was like no kind of shield charm she had ever seen before. The air around them began to crackle with the power of it, like wildfire spitting across an open brush, sharp and quick. She felt her head begin to throb, as the beating of her heart seemed to fall into time with its pulsing rhythm. The Death Eaters’ curses bounced off it harmlessly, as they screamed muffled commands at each other just beyond the spell. ‘Harry!’ Hermione cried, shouting over the din of the magic. ‘We have to Apparate out of here now!’ ‘We can’t Apparate from inside the clearing!’ he shouted back, sweat shining on his face and neck. His teeth were clenched almost painfully, as he struggled furiously to maintain the shield. She realized that it was beginning to waiver — the stream of curses was weakening it, and Harry. ‘We already tried. We must need to go further back!’ ‘Ginny!’ Hermione shouted, turning to her. Her face seemed distant now, out of focus, as though she were speaking through a chill grey fog. ‘Ginny, where did you Apparate to when you came? How far back was it?’ She fought to remember. ‘The trees…’ she muttered indistinctly. Hermione nodded at Harry and Ron in turn, an indistinguishable moment of understanding passing between them. They had done this before — that much was clear. In an instant, Harry released the shield as Ron sent off a volley of shots to cover them. She watched as two of the Death Eaters fell to their stunners, before the rest came charging at them murderously. Suddenly, though she wasn’t quite sure how, someone was lifting her off the hard ground, wrapping her firmly inside strong arms — arms that smelled of wood shavings and broom polish, and fresh earth. And then they were running, feet pounding against the hard ground as the world seemed to fall in around her. A wave of cold washed over her, as she felt the last of her strength seeping from her. The world became suddenly black, and Ginny knew no more. A/N: I have to apologize for the delay on this chapter — real life just got in the way and that was it, sad though it made me. Updates will come at much more regular intervals from now on though. Thanks to everyone who’s been following so far, and for the great reviews as well. Hope you enjoy!
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